After brutal session, Brownback prevailed

Sam Brownback continues to take heat for the state’s budget problems and sluggish economy. He had to shed tears and threaten a veto to drag Kansas’ longest-ever legislative session over the finish line. But as Kansas City Star columnist Steve Kraske observed, “the Kansas governor again got what he wanted out of the Legislature,” starting with repealing the school-finance formula. “He rejiggered welfare policy again. He moved local election dates, capped property taxes and slapped restrictions on city annexations,” Kraske wrote, “and he won on tax policy again, preserving his breaks for small businesses despite growing doubts. He did something else, too: He persuaded the most conservative Legislature in state history to raise taxes.” – Rhonda Holman